Gas turbine engines are known to operate in extreme environments exposing the engine components, especially those in the turbine section, to high operating temperatures and stresses. In order for the turbine components to endure these conditions, it is necessary that they are manufactured from a material having properties capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to such elevated temperatures and operating stresses, while receiving adequate cooling to lower their effective operating temperatures. This is especially true for the turbine buckets, or blades, as well as nozzles, or vanes, which are directly in the hot gas path stream of a combustion section.
In an effort to improve the efficiency of a gas turbine engine, operating temperatures can be increased in the combustion section so as to more completely burn the fuel. As a result, the temperatures in the turbine section are increased as well. For turbine materials to operate at a higher temperature without compromising component integrity, either additional cooling to the turbine components or improved material capability is required. However, by redirecting air to cool turbine components, the amount of air available for the combustion process is reduced, lowering its efficiency. This is counter productive to the goal of improving gas turbine efficiency by raising the operating temperature. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the operating improvements without reducing present air flow levels and engine efficiency.
A result of increased firing temperatures is further structural change in the material. That is, as operating temperatures increase for a given material, its ability to bear load decreases. As operating temperatures for gas turbine engines have increased over time in order to improve engine efficiency, a number of materials have been introduced having improved temperature capability. One such example is an alloy commonly referred to as CM-247 produced by Cannon-Muskegon Corporation of Muskegon, Mich. A form of this alloy is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,659. This alloy is one of many that have been developed having improved strength by reducing grain boundary cracking.
Another alloy improvement for gas turbine applications was developed by The General Electric Company. GTD-111, a nickel-based alloy having improved hot corrosion resistance, was developed for use in producing gas turbine blades and vanes. Properties of this alloy are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,416,596 and 6,428,637.
Furthermore, in addition to improved alloys, casting techniques have been developed to improve the strength of buckets and nozzles and other gas turbine components. As one skilled in the art of gas turbine airfoils will understand, the strength of a poured casting, and any inherent weakness therein, are a function of the size and location of the boundaries between the grains of the casting. Specifically, casting techniques have evolved from a conventional, or equiaxed, process where a metal is poured and grain boundaries are free to form as the part cools, to a directionally solidified (DS) casting process where metal is poured and cooled in a manner so as to only form grain boundaries in a single direction, preferably so that the <001> crystallographic direction is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the airfoil. By aligning the grain boundaries, typically the weakest portion of a casting, in a direction generally perpendicular to the load on the airfoil, significant improvements in casting strength, ductility, and resistance to thermal fatigue are realized. Most recently, enhancements have been made in the casting process so as to eliminate the grain boundaries altogether by cooling the castings in a manner so as to form a single crystal, or grain, structure, thereby eliminating the grain boundaries. This type of casting is the strongest type of casting to date, however, it is the most expensive casting to manufacture, due to the various processing requirements and alloy costs. Typically, single crystal castings are limited to applications where extremely high temperatures are found, excessively high mechanical loads exist, or turbine geometry dictates such a casting. An additional issue with respect to the casting process and alloy utilized pertains to the required processing. That is, depending on the casting technique and alloy involved, time consuming and expensive processes must occur to form the turbine component of that particular alloy.
Although significant enhancements have been made in alloy development, cooling technology, and casting processes, there is still significant margin for further improvements. Specifically, there is an industry need for an alloy having at least the capabilities of state-of-the-art alloys, yet have improved tensile strength, better castability, reduced operating stresses, and lower manufacturing costs.